Blue Bell Creameries Voluntarily Expands Recall to Include All of its Products Due to Possible Health Risk

Statement from The United Family regarding the Blue Bell Ice Cream recall of all products:

"On April 20, 2015, Blue Bell Ice Cream issued a voluntary recall of all products produced at all facilities including ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet and frozen snacks. As such, The United Family of stores immediately removed all Blue Bell products from shelves at its store banners, including United Supermarkets, Market Street, Albertsons Market, Amigos and United Express. The CDC recommends consumers check their freezer for any Blue Bell products and either throw them out or return them to the store. United Family guests who recently purchased Blue Bell products may return them for a full refund. As always, food safety and the health of our guests remain a top priority.” — Mary Myers, Communications Manager for The United Family

BRENHAM (April 20, 2015) — Blue Bell Ice Cream of Brenham is voluntarily recalling all of its products currently on the market made at all of its facilities including ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet and frozen snacks because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

“We’re committed to doing the 100 percent right thing, and the best way to do that is to take all of our products off the market until we can be confident that they are all safe,” said Paul Kruse, Blue Bell CEO and president. “We are heartbroken about this situation and apologize to all of our loyal Blue Bell fans and customers. Our entire history has been about making the very best and highest quality ice cream and we intend to fix this problem. We want enjoying our ice cream to be a source of joy and pleasure, never a cause for concern, so we are committed to getting this right.”

Today’s decision was the result of findings from an enhanced sampling program initiated by Blue Bell which revealed that Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream half gallons produced on March 17, 2015, and March 27, 2015, contained the bacteria. This means Blue Bell has now had several positive tests for Listeria in different places and plants and as previously reported five patients were treated in Kansas and three in Texas after testing positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

“At every step, we have made decisions in the best interest of our customers based on the evidence we had available at the time,” Kruse said. “At this point, we cannot say with certainty how Listeria was introduced to our facilities and so we have taken this unprecedented step. We continue to work with our team of experts to eliminate this problem.”

Blue Bell is implementing a procedure called “test and hold” for all products made at all of its manufacturing facilities. This means that all products will be tested first and held for release to the market only after the tests show they are safe. The Broken Arrow facility will remain closed as Blue Bell continues to investigate.

In addition to the “test and hold” system, Blue Bell is implementing additional safety procedures and testing including:

Expanding our already robust system of daily cleaning and sanitizing of equipment

Expanding our system of swabbing and testing our plant environment by 800 percent to include more surfaces

Sending samples daily to a leading microbiology laboratory for testing

Providing additional employee training

Blue Bell expects to resume distribution soon on a limited basis once it is confident in the safety of its product.

Consumers who have purchased these items are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. For more information consumers with questions may call 1-866-608-3940 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST or go to bluebell.com.